Probing Light-Matter Interaction with Topological Data Analysis

Abstract

We explore application of Topological Data Analysis to study light matter interaction through scattering response data in different dimensions. This method is robust against Fano resonance backgrounds in both strong and weak coupling regimes, maintaining accuracy even with reduced mode contrast, distorted lineshape, and the introduction of random trace noise. It scales to any number of interacting modes, reflecting the system's effective degrees of freedom. Crucially, TDA is not merely peak counting but reveals phase-encoded features in the scattering response and may be used even for a fully saturated amplitude response. The analysis is also applied to a three mode system with time reversal symmetry breaking, revealing change in apparent number of loops and voids in combined two way scattering data. This approach is demonstrated to differentiate the three Dyson ensembles through their topological complexity and probability density functions, enabling analysis of complex modal systems.